The Michigan Theater – The Garage Journal

B

bimmer1980

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#2

That is pretty impressive looking!!

R

ratdoggy

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#3

Google the " Fabulous ruins of Detroit".

1

1948

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#4

detroit is such a sad story... what could have been and was.....=/

K

KPSquared

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#5

Seems it was built on the original site of of Henry Ford’s first workshop. . . the irony is so thick here. Those images are amazing, but pretty much capture America's self destruction to a tee. . .

B

I could be wrong here, but i think this was one of Henry Ford's buildings, and was a manufacturing facility in the beginning.

The Packard building in Detroit was one of the largest builds in the world at one time. 3 million sq ft, today is ruins, very sad to see the architecture decay .

J

junk4dummies

Banned

Apr 3, 2012

#7

This is just the tip of the decay.
The beautiful huge train station has been stripped. When I was a child the black man that kept the wash room for tips always talked to me. He sold clippers a splash of your favorite after shave for a tip. My grand father was a rail road engineer back in 1900 and we always went by train.

Hundsons Deprtment Store was the largest store in the world when it was built. In the 50's everyone went down down by car or on the street car and would walk around down town to see the beautiful Christmans displays.

The theater you picture was so grand it matched the palaces of Europe. The first time I was in it was to see the News Real of Queen Elizabeths' Coronation.

The architecture in Detroit was so grand that it was called the little Pairs because it had world class architectures in its buildings and homes.

Michigan had such high taxes that in the late 60's there were bumper stickers saying "Will the last one leaving Michigan please turn off the lights."

When I was in grade school we had a screened in front porch and we could sleep on the porch and leave the doors unlocked. Nothing ever went missing or touched.

It is the people, culture and politics that have destroyed Detroit.

I served a Tool and Die apprentiship with GM. Back then you could walk out your door and have a job by noon and be working by 1 PM any time you wanted a job.

Detroit was croupt and always has had problems. Look up the Purple Gang on the web. It was the Jewish gang that ran boot leg form Canada which is due south of Detroit.

You will be shocked on the crime history. The word Getto was first used in Europe and it comes form the Jewish poor community. It has spread to other cultures over time.
On the day of the St Valantines day massacure shooting it was the purple gang that did the shooting. They all died a vilent death as other gangs moved in.

They even tore down the Ford Autitorium on the water front. I was an user there for years during high school. I got to see and hear all the concerts for free and I have seen many of the greats in my day. Just think I got paid $2 a night to hear it for free.

Old Black bottom NE of down down was a black ghetto. It was called the black bottom becasuse back in the 1830's the sewer went through there and it has a dark rich soil and was kind of a marsh land. All the blues and Jazz greats played there. I was too young to go but I read about it in the off beat papers. They tore it down in 1960. It is now a park and freeway.

I could write a book on detroit. My fathers room mate in collage was John Fetzer. He owned the Detroit tigers for years. Another one of my fathers friends went all over the world and was in charge of setting up the assembly lines. Other firneds were the head of the union, VP's of both Ford and GM.

I was married in a house in North Rosedale Park, near Southfield and Grandriver.

It is more than sad what has happened to Detroit and America.

I saw this photo on the web last year and my heart sank.
It is true you can never go home again. Not even in your dreams.

I will add one last foot note. My uncle was in the Union and they drove him around in a bullet proof car. They were fantastic years like the world will never see again.

Last edited: Apr 3, 2012

Z

Zeke

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#8

You should write a book. Sign me up for a copy.

R

Rich H.

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#9

http://www.detroityes.com/home.htm

B

bams50

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#10

As a car guy to my very DNA, I have naturally been fascinated with Detroit, although I have never been there.

Check out this haunting site. In particular, go through the "St. Cyril's" story. This site always leaves me deeply moved:

http://forgottendetroit.com/

R

rattlesnakehoey

Member

Apr 3, 2012

#11

Sadly it heralds the end of another of history's great dynasties.

O

oilslick

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#12

Google Detroiturbex This guy has an awesome site. I love looking at detroit and cant help being dumbfounded by all of the great things that were and never will be again. I believe it went from 2million to 800k population now.

S

softailgarage

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#13

Somebody posted this video link earlier in the week, google search "requiem for detroit". It touches briefly on this theater and the rest of the "ruins".

J

Joe B.

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#14

Junk4dummies, I really enjoyed that post. Thanks

N

Norcal

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#15

I have spent a lot of time looking at sites showing the decaying buildings of Detriot, sad that grand buildings have fallen in such a state.

Detroit is not the only place w/ decaying structures, Google "Dixie Square Mall" to see America's most (in)famous "Dead Mall".

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=Dixie+Square+Mall

J

junk4dummies

Banned

Apr 3, 2012

#16

Joe B. said:
Junk4dummies, I really enjoyed that post. Thanks

It was a great time in American history.
I would ride my bike 2 1/4 miles to the hobby shop and buy slot cars and race on thier huge track. I told mom where I was going and no one ever worried. Let a sixth grader do that now days. I still have my Pitman and Stormbecker cars and all the fancy wheels chasies etc. I even have my track.

Wednesdays was lady's day at Tiger Stadium. I would skip school and go to the ball game. It was 50 cents to get in on Wednesdays which was Ladies day. I would walk by Greens barber collage. It was a 2 story barber collage. They gave the bums hair cuts on the second floor and then the general public on the first. Hair cuts when I was a kid were 15 cents. Skip was the owners son who was about 30 back then. He always gave me a hard candy. Yes I got to sin in the owners box many a time but I never asked. The buss fiar or kids was 15 cents with a nickle transfer.

My father whould drive out to Royal Oak to where we lived when I was little.That was long before seat belts. We would go on Sunday moring to the Kepliner bakery. SP? The bread was baked on Sunday morning. It came down on rollers. There was a little window before the wrapping machine. If the loaf was (Damaged) deformed the man would pull it. The hot rasen bread was so good to eat on the way home. It was only 5 cents a loaf. Yes you read that right. Gas was 16.9 and the car was a blue 1952 Ford.
I still ate a huge lunch when we got home.

The Greenfield museum in Dearborn is still a great place for cars, machinery, trains and Edisons Lab.

Henery Fort, Harvey Firestone and Edison camped all over the US and were life long frineds.

When we were littel we took field trips town to the Ford foundry on the River. At one time Ford had the worlds largest privately owned railroad.
I rememeber looking over the cat walk as and thinking how hot it was. It was fantastic to see the sheets of steel running back and forth through the rollers.

They had the Ford Rodunda which they moved from the worlds fair. At Christmas it had the worlds best animated Christmas displays. It burned in 62I still have programs and booklets about the building.

The beautiful architecture in Detroit is what inspired me to become an architect later in life.

Olympia Stadium on Grandriver was just 6 miles on the buss. I watched Gordy How Play hocky. I watched Norman Cash and All Kline play ball.
Those were the good old days and I would give anyting to have them back.
The older I get the more I live in the past.

I had the best of two worlds. My grand father had a farm in Indiana and I got in all the farm life form milking cows to gathering eggs. My E ticket on the farm was unhooking the windmill and holding onto the handle as a little boy. I would ride it up and down the short distance on the cam swing.

I would take a branch, stirng aling with a safty pin and walk a half mile to the creek and go fishing. We got our drinking water form the well outside with a hand pump. We even had a two seater out house. I put my first set of point in my grandfathers old Lawnboy reel to reel mower when I was 10. no one showed me how. It ran great. We had a couple of horses and a few sheep. It was a picture picture farm. Then I would go back to Detroit and my perfect city life.

I know many people say no one live like Believe it to Beiver and all the other TV Shows. Yes there were millions of us who grew up with mom at home and no strife at home. One would have though the TV shows were about my life.

Damn, how I hate the change.

F

Frank The Plumber

Well-known member

Apr 3, 2012

#17

This is because we live in a disposable society. We respect nothing that is. We think we can just reproduce it at a later date. We want hot new and modern. We can plow under the next farm field, start a new town or city and leave the old one for the lesser fortunate people. Or so we like to think so. The same reason most people have more stuff in plastic tubs in their basements waiting to be tossed out after they die than any other society on the planet X 10. Detroit is a syndrome, not just a city. It's a trend towards a reality check, the first to fall. We really need to react to it, there are a lot of citys right there with it, like leaves waiting for a bit of wind to blow them down.

L

Lippyp

Well-known member

Apr 4, 2012

#18

I saw this last year when a couple of the specialist american car mags carried different versions of the same review of the new Camaro, very sad to see such decay. Do you not have any kind of listing system for historic buildings to protect them over there?

C

Cobra Jet

Well-known member

Apr 4, 2012

#19

Even protected or historic buildings eventually get bulldozed and destroyed after years and years of no one doing anything with those buildings. Cash (and corruption) is king, enough of it can buy or destroy ANYTHING, whether it's protected or not.

The sad thing is, these buildings, true works of art of the past, all built with merely nothing more but creative minds, hands and hand tools of the time, can never, ever be recreated to the grandeur they once were. Once they are gone, the history is gone with them. Some only remain as a figment in an older picture of what they once were, or in current digital format to show nothing but a degraded, disrespected shell of their former glory.

Some of you should google up images of Camden NJ (both past and present) - which is essentially like a mini-Detroit - suffers the same plight and degradation of ignorance, corruption and flight of the people - leaving nothing more than a shadow of it's former self, with destruction littering it's streets.

I'm always seraching for images online of ghost towns, abandoned towns, etc, as the architecture from those eras is something to gawk at and admire - even when there's nothing more than a gutted structure, it still has some glory left to it for those of us here to witness what's left.

J

junk4dummies

Banned

Apr 4, 2012

#20

Lippyp said:
I saw this last year when a couple of the specialist american car mags carried different versions of the same review of the new Camaro, very sad to see such decay. Do you not have any kind of listing system for historic buildings to protect them over there?

To answer your question..
Yes we do. Most places are protected. If they are owned by governments local, state, or Federal they are protected under those laws. If they are in private hands there is very little one can do.

Detroit and Chicago are so corrupt that there is such a disregard for laws it would not matter what was protected.

The problem is the culture that moved in. Detroit has 4 million people living in the surounding area. The problem is that it is not safe to go into detroit, day or night. There is the bottom line for the decay. No one supports anything in the city because they do not go there. The buildings fall empty and just fall in. What does not fall in is destroyed by those who live there.

It is the same reason eveyone left Detroit. They did not want to live with the eliments and culture that took over the city. It is not hard to understand.

Property taxes are still out of site. You can buy a very nice home there for $15,000. Less than the price of a car. You can buy homes in the best neighborhoods for 50 grand. Anywhere else in the country the house would be 5 to 10 time the price.

Pontiac foot ball stadium was in Pontiac north of Detroit. The stadium was empty and it sold for $100,000. along with several hundred acres. Yes you read it right. 100 grand for a pro football stadium, parking, land and all.

There are wealthy areas around Detroit that are nicer than most of the country. Detroit has a problem but there is still money there. The problem is the high business tax and that the cost of public and union retirement funds can not be supported. They never could be. The dung has hit the wall all across the nation. The public worker now makes about twice what his counter part in the private sectore makes when it comes to pay and life time benifits. There is no more money to tax and give away. Before the influx of foreign cars they could pass on all the cost of union demands onto the public because there was no competitoin. The public had no choice.

I left Michigan in January of 1972 when gas was 19.9 cents per gallon and tomato soup was 6 cents a can. I did not think twice about leaving the city I loved. I moved to the Seattle area before moving to California. I hate California. It is wall to wall people with no common sense. LOL Thank goodness I have a farm in Indiana.

Detroit only has a 25 percent highschool graduation rate. I know all about the school system there. My father was a highschool principle in Detroit. He retired in 1972. Now the best High School in the city has been closed. It is not even in the bad part of the city. It is out on the edge of the city. It is so bad the state will not help Detroit pay thier bills. Liberalism sure works doesn't it. It creats poverty buy taking away the incentive to work. So much for LBJ's great society.

D

dirttracker18

Well-known member

Apr 4, 2012

#21

I was born just down the road from Detroit, just north of Windsor in Chatham. I have been to Detroit a number of times and it looks a little worse and more sketchy every time I go back. We used to make the run down to Detroit for the evening to catch a Tigers game, now I would not leave my vehicle anywhere near there. the last game we went to two cars in the lot we parked in were torched and others broken into. The same guy that took our money to park was still stiting in his chair. I got the feeling that some people who parked there "forgot" to tip him?!?!?

It is scary when you cross the bridge now, right after the border services you go through a very rough neighbourhood.

A historic city with an amazing history that epitomizes the american spirit.

G

GMZ

Well-known member

Apr 4, 2012

#22

A damn shame, it used to be one of the most vibrant cities in the world.

B

bams50

Well-known member

Apr 4, 2012

#23

junk4dummies said:
To answer your question..
Yes we do. Most places are protected. If they are owned by governments local, state, or Federal they are protected under those laws. If they are in private hands there is very little one can do.

Detroit and Chicago are so corrupt that there is such a disregard for laws it would not matter what was protected.

The problem is the culture that moved in. Detroit has 4 million people living in the surounding area. The problem is that it is not safe to go into detroit, day or night. There is the bottom line for the decay. No one supports anything in the city because they do not go there. The buildings fall empty and just fall in. What does not fall in is destroyed by those who live there.

It is the same reason eveyone left Detroit. They did not want to live with the eliments and culture that took over the city. It is not hard to understand.

Property taxes are still out of site. You can buy a very nice home there for $15,000. Less than the price of a car. You can buy homes in the best neighborhoods for 50 grand. Anywhere else in the country the house would be 5 to 10 time the price.

Pontiac foot ball stadium was in Pontiac north of Detroit. The stadium was empty and it sold for $100,000. along with several hundred acres. Yes you read it right. 100 grand for a pro football stadium, parking, land and all.

There are wealthy areas around Detroit that are nicer than most of the country. Detroit has a problem but there is still money there. The problem is the high business tax and that the cost of public and union retirement funds can not be supported. They never could be. The dung has hit the wall all across the nation. The public worker now makes about twice what his counter part in the private sectore makes when it comes to pay and life time benifits. There is no more money to tax and give away. Before the influx of foreign cars they could pass on all the cost of union demands onto the public because there was no competitoin. The public had no choice.

I left Michigan in January of 1972 when gas was 19.9 cents per gallon and tomato soup was 6 cents a can. I did not think twice about leaving the city I loved. I moved to the Seattle area before moving to California. I hate California. It is wall to wall people with no common sense. LOL Thank goodness I have a farm in Indiana.

Detroit only has a 25 percent highschool graduation rate. I know all about the school system there. My father was a highschool principle in Detroit. He retired in 1972. Now the best High School in the city has been closed. It is not even in the bad part of the city. It is out on the edge of the city. It is so bad the state will not help Detroit pay thier bills. Liberalism sure works doesn't it. It creats poverty buy taking away the incentive to work. So much for LBJ's great society.

Brilliant post; and, sadly, dead on. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Watch out. With that kind of clear thinking you're liable to run out of CA on a rail. Or a Prius.

D

dodgeramsst2003

Well-known member

Apr 4, 2012

#24

junk4dummies said:
To answer your question..
Yes we do. Most places are protected. If they are owned by governments local, state, or Federal they are protected under those laws. If they are in private hands there is very little one can do.

Detroit and Chicago are so corrupt that there is such a disregard for laws it would not matter what was protected.

The problem is the culture that moved in. Detroit has 4 million people living in the surounding area. The problem is that it is not safe to go into detroit, day or night. There is the bottom line for the decay. No one supports anything in the city because they do not go there. The buildings fall empty and just fall in. What does not fall in is destroyed by those who live there.

It is the same reason eveyone left Detroit. They did not want to live with the eliments and culture that took over the city. It is not hard to understand.

Property taxes are still out of site. You can buy a very nice home there for $15,000. Less than the price of a car. You can buy homes in the best neighborhoods for 50 grand. Anywhere else in the country the house would be 5 to 10 time the price.

Pontiac foot ball stadium was in Pontiac north of Detroit. The stadium was empty and it sold for $100,000. along with several hundred acres. Yes you read it right. 100 grand for a pro football stadium, parking, land and all.

There are wealthy areas around Detroit that are nicer than most of the country. Detroit has a problem but there is still money there. The problem is the high business tax and that the cost of public and union retirement funds can not be supported. They never could be. The dung has hit the wall all across the nation. The public worker now makes about twice what his counter part in the private sectore makes when it comes to pay and life time benifits. There is no more money to tax and give away. Before the influx of foreign cars they could pass on all the cost of union demands onto the public because there was no competitoin. The public had no choice.

I left Michigan in January of 1972 when gas was 19.9 cents per gallon and tomato soup was 6 cents a can. I did not think twice about leaving the city I loved. I moved to the Seattle area before moving to California. I hate California. It is wall to wall people with no common sense. LOL Thank goodness I have a farm in Indiana.

Detroit only has a 25 percent highschool graduation rate. I know all about the school system there. My father was a highschool principle in Detroit. He retired in 1972. Now the best High School in the city has been closed. It is not even in the bad part of the city. It is out on the edge of the city. It is so bad the state will not help Detroit pay thier bills. Liberalism sure works doesn't it. It creats poverty buy taking away the incentive to work. So much for LBJ's great society.

You hit a lot on the head, but as a lifelong resident of the state, and living only 25 mins from the heart of Detroit, I figured I'd chime in on a few items.

First, there are LOTS of areas in Detroit that are safe to go into BOTH day AND night. Greektown, Corktown, new center area, Jefferson corridor, Campus Martius, Woodward from downtown up to the city line at 8 mile, all very O.K. places to visit just to name a few. There has been a huge investment of building along the the woodward corridor from downtown out to the city line, and also over in corktown. Lofts, new expensive condos, they are all going up. I'll be headed downtown tomorrow to tailgate and attend the home opener of the Tigers. I also spend a vast amount of time down there in the fall tailgating and going to the Lions games. I also love to go down to eastern market on Saturday mornings to buy my fresh fruits, veggies and meat from Kaps meat market. Yes, Detroit has definitely seen it's better days. Would I go for a walk all over Detroit? NO, it definitely has its bad areas, but then again what city doesn't?

I turn on the news everyday and see even the national news covering detroit and how bad it is. Please, it definitely needs some help, but don't go using it as a cover story every night, we have enough problems as it is. I think some of the "Problems" that Detroit is experiencing right now has more do with perception brought on by news people who have never even been here.

The H.S. that was torn down? Are you referring to Cass Tech? They built a new Cass Tech right next to the old one. The only reason for leaving the old building was that it cost to much to repair it and bring it up to code. It was an awesome building and I hated to see it go.

Oh, and the Pontiac silverdome sold for $583,000, not $100,000. Still a deal, but the city of Pontiac was only trying to unload a building that cost 1.5 million/year just to maintain, it really had nothing to do with the real estate market, and more to do with "what the hell can I use it for?" There really isn't a great market anywhere for a used sports stadium. Usually they are just torn down.

Just some thoughts from someone who still lives here and love my state and the city of Detroit despite it's shortcomings.

-Chris

Last edited: Apr 4, 2012

F

fivespdcat

Well-known member

Apr 4, 2012

#25

dodgeramsst2003 said:
You hit a lot on the head, but as a lifelong resident of the state, and living only 25 mins from the heart of Detroit, I figured I'd chime in on a few items.

First, there are LOTS of areas in Detroit that are safe to go into BOTH day AND night. Greektown, Corktown, new center area, Jefferson corridor, Campus Martius, Woodward from downtown up to the city line at 8 mile, all very O.K. places to visit just to name a few. There has been a huge investment of building along the the woodward corridor from downtown out to the city line, and also over in corktown. Lofts, new expensive condos, they are all going up. I'll be headed downtown tomorrow to tailgate and attend the home opener of the Tigers. I also spend a vast amount of time down there in the fall tailgating and going to the Lions games. I also love to go down to eastern market on Saturday mornings to buy my fresh fruits, veggies and meat from Kaps meat market. Yes, Detroit has definitely seen it's better days. Would I go for a walk all over Detroit? NO, it definitely has its bad areas, but then again what city doesn't?

I turn on the news everyday and see even the national news covering detroit and how bad it is. Please, it definitely needs some help, but don't go using it as a cover story every night, we have enough problems as it is. I think some of the "Problems" that Detroit is experiencing right now has more do with perception brought on by news people who have never even been here.

Oh, and the Pontiac silverdome sold for $583,000, not $100,000. Still a deal, but the city of Pontiac was only trying to unload a building that cost 1.5 million/year just to maintain, it really had nothing to do with the real estate market, and more to do with "what the hell can I use it for?" There really isn't a great market anywhere for a used sports stadium. Usually they are just torn down.

Just some thoughts from someone who still lives here and love my state and the city of Detroit despite it's shortcomings.

-Chris

J

jake149

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#26

I live about an hour away from Detroit and the only time I go there is for games,concerts or the junk yard, other than that I stay out. The last visit to the the junk yard was a memorable one, passed a saturn sitting on rotors in the middle of the road?

it seems like every time I go I see a new building closed.

I

I void warranties

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#27

Frank The Plumber said:
This is because we live in a disposable society. We respect nothing that is. We think we can just reproduce it at a later date. We want hot new and modern. We can plow under the next farm field, start a new town or city and leave the old one for the lesser fortunate people. Or so we like to think so. The same reason most people have more stuff in plastic tubs in their basements waiting to be tossed out after they die than any other society on the planet X 10. Detroit is a syndrome, not just a city. It's a trend towards a reality check, the first to fall. We really need to react to it, there are a lot of citys right there with it, like leaves waiting for a bit of wind to blow them down.

frank i agree with you, enough is never enough... then we set it aside.

S

slob

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#28

If you want to know about why cities die, read Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities and Robert Caro's The Power Broker.

O

Oldtymeflyr

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#29

I grew up in Lansing but would make trips to Detroit on a regular basis. Until the riots in 1968, it was a beautiful town. I lived in Detroit for 3 years in the early 1970's and it was still a pretty nice city. It clearly has had significant decay.

We go to Tiger games and otherwise visit the town as we like. There are still some very beautiful areas, but the overwhelming situation in Detroit is bad. You have to be very careful where you go.

Detroit is proof that anything does not go. Too much corruption and incompetence will doom a city.

Rick

J

jwo316

Active member

Apr 5, 2012

#30

dodgeramsst2003 said:
You hit a lot on the head, but as a lifelong resident of the state, and living only 25 mins from the heart of Detroit, I figured I'd chime in on a few items.

First, there are LOTS of areas in Detroit that are safe to go into BOTH day AND night. Greektown, Corktown, new center area, Jefferson corridor, Campus Martius, Woodward from downtown up to the city line at 8 mile, all very O.K. places to visit just to name a few. There has been a huge investment of building along the the woodward corridor from downtown out to the city line, and also over in corktown. Lofts, new expensive condos, they are all going up. I'll be headed downtown tomorrow to tailgate and attend the home opener of the Tigers. I also spend a vast amount of time down there in the fall tailgating and going to the Lions games. I also love to go down to eastern market on Saturday mornings to buy my fresh fruits, veggies and meat from Kaps meat market. Yes, Detroit has definitely seen it's better days. Would I go for a walk all over Detroit? NO, it definitely has its bad areas, but then again what city doesn't?

I turn on the news everyday and see even the national news covering detroit and how bad it is. Please, it definitely needs some help, but don't go using it as a cover story every night, we have enough problems as it is. I think some of the "Problems" that Detroit is experiencing right now has more do with perception brought on by news people who have never even been here.

The H.S. that was torn down? Are you referring to Cass Tech? They built a new Cass Tech right next to the old one. The only reason for leaving the old building was that it cost to much to repair it and bring it up to code. It was an awesome building and I hated to see it go.

Oh, and the Pontiac silverdome sold for $583,000, not $100,000. Still a deal, but the city of Pontiac was only trying to unload a building that cost 1.5 million/year just to maintain, it really had nothing to do with the real estate market, and more to do with "what the hell can I use it for?" There really isn't a great market anywhere for a used sports stadium. Usually they are just torn down.

Just some thoughts from someone who still lives here and love my state and the city of Detroit despite it's shortcomings.

-Chris

Great post, I also live near Detroit (Royal Oak, one of the closest suburbs) and the talk about Detroit being dangerous/unsafe are almost universally overblown. You can definitely get into trouble, but I've spent many days and many nights in the areas mentioned above (and shopping at Eastern Market) and never felt threatened.

Detroit is as sad story and it doesn't look too promising for the future, now you're trying to support a city with an infastructure designed for 2,000,000 people and you have 750,000 generally low income people left. Therefore there are awful city services and taxes stay high. It continues to spiral because once people can afford it they move out and the tax base continues to drop, but the city financial requirements don't significantly shift. It is insane to drive down Woodward, a major American rode, and see abandoned, burned down and genreally blighted buildings - there is basically almost no commerce in the city proper.

T

theoldwizard1

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#31

Oldtymeflyr said:
Until the riots in 1968, it was a beautiful town.

That was the beginning of the end.

In 1970 I help deliver some Thanksgiving meals (un-prepared) to "less fortunate" families. I drove though the area where the riots had been. Empty lots. Nothing. Looked like a war zone after they had cleaned it up.

Nothing there except traffic lights going from green to yellow to red for no traffic.

We moved out of Detroit in 1971 when my Dad got a job in Rochester, MI which happened to be just down the street from Oakland University which had already planned on attending.

T

Tim Cowan

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#32

Is GREENFIELD VILLAGE still a good, safe place to visit? I was there in 1971 during a phone company strike time. I loved the place and would like to revisit and take the wife. I would go straight there and spend the day and then go back out of the area to skip the badlands.....TIM COWAN

F

fivespdcat

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#33

Tim Cowan said:
Is GREENFIELD VILLAGE still a good, safe place to visit? I was there in 1971 during a phone company strike time. I loved the place and would like to revisit and take the wife. I would go straight there and spend the day and then go back out of the area to skip the badlands.....TIM COWAN

Greenfield village is now the Henry ford. It's in Dearborn, not Detroit. No reason to run from there, it's a very safe place to be. Now don't go crazy, but it's no place to be fearful. Lots of good food and bars in the area. Hit me up on pm if you want more info.

T

Tim Cowan

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#34

fivespdcat
Thanks for the come back on Greenfield Village. My wife was Wanda Ford & our son is Aubrey Ford Cowan. She reports to being kin to Henry. I used to have cousins in Detroit & Southfield but they died off or moved. I drive a Buick and 2 Dodge diesels; I guess I should drive a Ford. Everyone who enjoys machinery should not miss a trip to the Village. Much worth the visit to Dearborn. Thank-you....TIM

T

TruckJunkie

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#35

I grew up in the north suburbs of Detroit, used to ride my bike to Belle Isle in the late '70s before school in the mornings. It was very bad then, but rode with a group of bicycle racers at 5-6 am, so there were not too many of the bad element up that early.

In the early 80s I drove a delivery truck for a building supply company and made pick-ups and deliveries all over the city. At that time vast areas of the city were nothing but roads and driveways with all the houses having been bulldozed. Used to get a kick out of watching the pheasants and foxes running around the overgrown city lots.

One of the regular places I picked up from was an old factory where they packaged hanger wire for suspended ceilings. It was an old brick building on French Rd that looked like something from the Mad Max movies, windows bricked up or converted to glass block and covered with heavy steel grates. The exterior was pock-marked with bullet holes and the receiving area was surrounded by a 12' high fence topped with barbed wire.

As I was leaving there one morning it looked like a scene out of central casting from a bad Hollywood movie set. There was a gang of about a dozen young men wearing gang colors, walking down the middle of the street swinging chains, carrying pipes and generally looking like trouble.

I watched houses with cars lined up out front, with kids running in and out carrying money and baggies of drugs while a city cop car drove up, stopped at the corner stop sign, looked both ways, and kept on driving like nothing was amiss.

Made a delivery in the alley off Cadillac Square when the parade for the downtown Hoedown was getting ready to start. The transmission blew in my truck because it was so overloaded and left me stranded in the alley. While waiting for another truck to come out and pick me up, I had a doper stick a sawed off single shot shotgun in my face and demand money. As a college kid, driving the truck for a slight bit over minimum wage I did not even have any money to buy lunch with, or even any credit cards. The truck was loaded with 35 lb boxes of ceiling tile and 70 lb boxes of the steel grid and the alley was full of trans fluid from the blown ******. Told him he was welcome to anything he could carry away, and am very glad he did not shoot me before taking off down the alley.

After leaving that job, I did not cross the city line again for over 20 years. I still will not stop anywhere within the city limits, just drive through on the freeway. There is nothing in that city worth going back after.

F

Frank The Plumber

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#36

If you try to lump Chicago into this you have not been here.

There are still people paying taxes here. Most cities in trouble have lost their tax paying resident base.

Our troubles are spending, not income.

J

junk4dummies

Banned

Apr 5, 2012

#37

dodgeramsst2003 said:
You hit a lot on the head, but as a lifelong resident of the state, and living only 25 mins from the heart of Detroit, I figured I'd chime in on a few items.

First, there are LOTS of areas in Detroit that are safe to go into BOTH day AND night. Greektown, Corktown, new center area, Jefferson corridor, Campus Martius, Woodward from downtown up to the city line at 8 mile, all very O.K. places to visit just to name a few. There has been a huge investment of building along the the woodward corridor from downtown out to the city line, and also over in corktown. Lofts, new expensive condos, they are all going up. I'll be headed downtown tomorrow to tailgate and attend the home opener of the Tigers. I also spend a vast amount of time down there in the fall tailgating and going to the Lions games. I also love to go down to eastern market on Saturday mornings to buy my fresh fruits, veggies and meat from Kaps meat market. Yes, Detroit has definitely seen it's better days. Would I go for a walk all over Detroit? NO, it definitely has its bad areas, but then again what city doesn't?

I turn on the news everyday and see even the national news covering detroit and how bad it is. Please, it definitely needs some help, but don't go using it as a cover story every night, we have enough problems as it is. I think some of the "Problems" that Detroit is experiencing right now has more do with perception brought on by news people who have never even been here.

The H.S. that was torn down? Are you referring to Cass Tech? They built a new Cass Tech right next to the old one. The only reason for leaving the old building was that it cost to much to repair it and bring it up to code. It was an awesome building and I hated to see it go.

Oh, and the Pontiac silverdome sold for $583,000, not $100,000. Still a deal, but the city of Pontiac was only trying to unload a building that cost 1.5 million/year just to maintain, it really had nothing to do with the real estate market, and more to do with "what the hell can I use it for?" There really isn't a great market anywhere for a used sports stadium. Usually they are just torn down.

Just some thoughts from someone who still lives here and love my state and the city of Detroit despite it's shortcomings.

-Chris

You are right on. There are many nice areas that are still safe. You are right about the price of the stadium. At that price there is not much difference. Cass Tech was a great school. My fathers best friend Russell Swarts was the vice principle there in the early 60's I was thinking of Redford High School. The music and band leader there put on plays that equaled Broadway plays. I think his name was Denby Not sure if that spelling is correct. I like Corktown and Hamtramic which was not part of Detroit but surrounded by the city. Damn did they have good dellies. Them there was good eaten days. LOL We would go to the Eastren market and get bushels of apples for $2 a bushel. We had a huge celler under ground but you got to it form inside the basement. Everything stayed cool and fruit and veggies stayed good all winter. We would bring bushels of squash, tomatos and things back form the farm and can them for the winter. We did not need to save the money but the food was much better. I still can to this day using a steam canner.

I was born in Pontiac. We moved from Royal Oak to North Rosedale Park then to Palmer woods. That is where Romeny lived as a small boy. I never knew them.

The Fisher bodies made for GM were made by the 7 fisher brothers. They buildt a 35 thousand square foot house in Palmer woods and gave it to the Arch Biship of Detroit. One of the 17 thousand square foot homes that belonged to one of the fishers is on Boston Blvd. The old Ford home is close, Berry Gorden's old estate is on the same street and so is the Sander Candy company family home on that street.

Some how I know Detroit inside and out. If I forgot to mention anything it is because there was so much good that you could not list it all. My other Grandfather was a contractor and owned building in Detroit that were machine shops etc.

If I could take it back 50 years I would move back tomorrow. I still have family and friends all around Michigan. I get there every year.
My wife and I have 7 children. 1 in Mi, 2 in In, 3 in CA and 1 in WA.

If I sit here and think about what was any longer I might get misty eyed.

Talk about living this week in the past.......... I had a great live and took it for granted. I wish everyone could have the same for themselves and thier families.

J

junk4dummies

Banned

Apr 5, 2012

#38

Frank The Plumber said:
If you try to lump Chicago into this you have not been here.

There are still people paying taxes here. Most cities in trouble have lost their tax paying resident base.

Our troubles are spending, not income.

No, Chicago is not like Detroit until you hit South Chicago all the way out to Gary. LOL Chicago is a great place. The politics are more corrupt than Detroit's. That is not even arguable. All you govenors and mayors are in jail. I have studyed politics in collage and on my own. I fly into Chicago at leat once a year and I have taken the L train. I take the sub, bus and trains all over Chicago. South Chicago was Like East St Louis when I was a kid. Chicago has not died and is very nice. I could use a good Chicago Piza tonight. The best in the world.

J

junk4dummies

Banned

Apr 5, 2012

#39

Tim Cowan said:
fivespdcat
Thanks for the come back on Greenfield Village. My wife was Wanda Ford & our son is Aubrey Ford Cowan. She reports to being kin to Henry. I used to have cousins in Detroit & Southfield but they died off or moved. I drive a Buick and 2 Dodge diesels; I guess I should drive a Ford. Everyone who enjoys machinery should not miss a trip to the Village. Much worth the visit to Dearborn. Thank-you....TIM

Speeking of Ford.....
That is all I drive. Easy to fix. LOL parts are cheap and a good used one is always half price or less. LOL

Going back to Ford. My parents got married in 1936. My father was teaching in a one room school house that belonged to a church in Ferndale. Which is between Detroit and Royal Oak. He made $35 per month. My mom worked for Ford and made $165 per month. She was one of the many women who did the books. She was a comtroller. She got TB and was in a sanatarium for 6 months. She worked down the hall form Henery Ford's office. When she went back to work Mr Ford Sr. sent his limo everytime mom needed to go to the doctor. It took her to see the dock and back to the office. Mom would ride the elivator up with Mr Ford and she said he always spoke to her. My mom was a knock out even if I do day so. LOL

Back then Ford had a policy of only one person working in the family so jobs could be spread around. My mom worked and my dad donated his teaching time to the school and church.

We would watch the boats race at the Roster Tail on the river every year form the Detroit Yatch club. We would rent canoes and than sit with our girlfriends and listen to the concerts at night in the park. We would ride the old sway back horses that always knew their way back home even if you didn't. We would go to Bobolo on the boat and smooch all night long.
Hudsans would put on a fantastic 4th of July show and shoot off fire works form a barge on the Detroit River. Damn they were good old days. How far are we going to go back? I am glad to see I am not the only one who enjoyed Detroit. I left and never looked back becasue of love why did you all leave. LOL

The J L Hudson building down town had the best toy store in the city. It was up on the 12th floor. The brass rales and elivators were something to behold.
Crowleys department store was just South of Hudsons. They had a floor just for kids. My mom would drop me off and go shoping. The girls that ran the place were so cute. LOL We played games and finger painted etc. It was bare and dark but fun. It was sad when they emploded that building. I think that was about 1959 that came down. I rode the early street cars with my mom. Then they took out the tracks and the trollys had rubber wheels. Once in a while the rods would jump off the over head lines and the drive would get out with his long pole and put them back on.
When did I get old? I don't remember.
I promice no more memmory lane.
I am glad everyone has enjoyed going down memory lane.

F

fivespdcat

Well-known member

Apr 5, 2012

#40

Ford field still has one wall from the hudsons building with all the street names on it. It is a great football field even today. While I miss Tiger Stadium and the awesome hot dogs, it was ready to move on and Comerica is a great ball park especially for watching baseball. Joe Louis is a great hockey arena, but we need a new one, but it will be sad when they have to take down all the banners and put them up somewhere else. I don't think Detroit compares to a lot of things in Chicago, but you know what I love the city and the area. I'm in Chicago monthly if not more, it's different to me, not bad, but it's just not "my" town if you know what I mean. There is something about being from the D that you can't replicate, and a lot of people in Chicago are from here. If youre into sports Detroit and the surrounding areas are top notch, the car scene is amazing, but yeah we have the decay, but to me it's almost beautiful. I like to see the old buildings, but it does make me sad to think what it all once was. I still think this is a great town no matter what, I love this place and am proud to say I grew up here, warts and all. A lot of people bash this town, but that's their issue, I can find a million things wrong about any city, but why dwell on it. We are detroiters and we move forward, can't live in the past and need to fight for another day. This city is about guts and it will continue to rise, not all of it, but enough of it to keep me proud saying this is me...

Btw, I like the memory lane, I still miss the belle isle aquarium!

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Banned

Banned

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Banned

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Banned

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Banned

Banned

Banned

Well-known member

The Archive